The present invention relates to a system for consulting an electronic mail server in which a plurality of electronic messages are recorded for a user under data identifying that user. A particularly advantageous application of the invention lies in the field of public telephony.
Systems for consulting electronic mail servers are known that implement a personal computer fitted with software for managing electronic messages and connected to an electronic mail server. Those known systems enable messages to be consulted visually on the screen of the personal computer, with the user keying in identity data such as an electronic mail address and a password. Where necessary, a printer connected to the computer can provide a paper copy of received messages.
That type of consultation system nevertheless presents the drawback of being stationary and of requiring a large amount of equipment, a nearby power outlet, and a telephone line for connecting to the computer""s modem. It is therefore not possible for a user to consult electronic mail from any location because the user must necessarily be on the premises where the personal computer is installed.
To remedy that drawback, proposals have been made for consultation systems that operate from a telephone appliance, in particular a mobile telephone, which enables a user who subscribes to an electronic mail server to access mail by dialing the server""s number and then giving identity data. After the user has been recognized by means of said identity data, the server uses voice synthesis to communicate verbally the number, the title, and on request the contents of the messages most recently received for the user. Those voice consultation systems have the advantage for mobile telephone users, for example, of giving access to electronic mail from any location where it is possible to make a telephone connection to the server, and there is no need to have a personal computer or a power outlet. Naturally, with such systems, it is not possible to access the messages directly on a screen. Nevertheless, the cost of that service is less than the above-mentioned solutions which display message content.
Those known systems for consulting electronic mail nevertheless present several drawbacks.
Firstly there is a problem of security level, e.g. a password keyed directly onto the keypad, since there is a risk of that being observed surreptitiously. In addition, the line of the connected telephone network can be pirated for the purpose of intercepting messages it passes.
Furthermore, ergonomically, it will be understood that with such systems it quickly becomes awkward to remember the numbers of all of the messages to be consulted once the number of messages becomes large.
One object of the present invention is to provide a system for consulting an electronic mail server in which a plurality of electronic messages are recorded for a user under data identifying that user, which system provides improved security and ergonomy over known voice consultation systems, while nevertheless retaining the low cost nature of the service.
One aspect of the present invention is directed to a system for consulting an electronic mail server, comprises:
an electronic memory card for storing said identity data; and
a telephone appliance comprising a handset, an electronic memory card reader, a display screen, and keys giving access to options displayed on said screen;
said telephone appliance being suitable firstly for transmitting to said server the identity data as read by the electronic memory card reader, and secondly for displaying a list of received electronic messages returned from the server and presented as options on the display screen, the user selecting a message by pressing the corresponding access key.
Thus, with the system of the invention it is possible permanently to display the list of messages on the display screen, to select one of them by means of the access key, to take cognizance of its content, and then to select another, and so on. It will be observed that the consultation system of the invention can be generalized to a large scale by being installed on public telephone networks, thereby contributing to the democratization of electronic mail, and also of the Internet, as desired by European governments. This ease of access is made even easier because, as mentioned above, the cost of such a solution remains significantly lower than that of conventional systems for consulting messages visually, implementing major pieces of equipment such as a personal computer, a modem, etc . . .
In general, the invention provides for the telephone appliance to be suitable for displaying the message selected by the user on its display screen, in order to enable the message which appears in written form on the screen merely to be read. However, the user can also select aural consultation of said message. To this end, the telephone appliance is suitable for delivering the selected message in voice form when the handset is taken off-hook. When the user picks up the handset of the telephone appliance, a voice synthesis device is implemented to supply an oral version of the message via the telephone line.
In a particular embodiment of the system of the invention, the telephone appliance also comprises means allowing the user to act on the selected message. For example, said action-taking means are reply means and/or transmission means enabling the user to reply to the previous selected message, or to forward it to at least one other addressee.
An advantage of the system of the invention lies in using an electronic memory card, which is particularly suitable for storing user identity data. In particular, in security terms, the password can be stored in the card, so the user does not need to key it in under the eyes of a third party. Furthermore, with an electronic memory card, it is possible to make the telephone line secure by encrypting messages, thereby disposing of possible piracy.
Furthermore, provision can be made for said electronic memory card also to include prepaid telephone units, thus providing very simple means for billing and paying for consulting the server.
Finally, in order to inform the user about message length, and thus the cost of consulting messages, it is preferable in the invention for said list of electronic messages to be accompanied by the number of words and/or the duration of each message.